Friday, September 13, 2024
The Friday Face-Off: Current Read #31
Wednesday, September 11, 2024
Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Black Hunger by Nicholas Pullen, Polostan by Neal Stephenson, & Sorcery and Small Magics by Maiga Doocy
Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.
The Black Hunger by Nicholas Pullen
Publication: October 8th, 2024
Redhook
Paperback. 400 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org
From Goodreads:
"A spine-tingling, queer gothic horror debut where two men are drawn into an otherworldly spiral, and a journey that will only end when they reach the darkest part of the human soul.
'A gothic masterpiece. A devastating exploration of humanity's capacity for evil.' – Sunyi Dean, author of The Book Eaters
John Sackville will soon be dead. Shadows writhe in the corners of his cell as he mourns the death of his secret lover and as the gnawing hunger inside him grows impossible to ignore.
He must write his last testament before it is too late.
The story he tells will take us to the darkest part of the human soul.
It is a tale of otherworldly creatures, ancient cults, and a terrifying journey from the stone circles of Scotland to the icy peaks of Tibet. It is a tale that will take us to the end of the world."
Polostan by Neal Stephenson
Publication: October 15th, 2024
William Morrow
Hardcover. 320 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org
From Goodreads:
"From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Termination Shock and Cryptonomicon, the first installment in a monumental new series—an expansive historical epic of intrigue and international espionage, presaging the dawn of the Atomic Age.
The first installment in Neal Stephenson’s Bomb Light cycle, Polostan follows the early life of the enigmatic Dawn Rae Bjornberg. Born in the American West to a clan of cowboy anarchists, Dawn is raised in Leningrad after the Russian Revolution by her Russian father, a party line Leninist who re-christens her Aurora. She spends her early years in Russia but then grows up as a teenager in Montana, before being drawn into gunrunning and revolution in the streets of Washington, D.C., during the depths of the Great Depression. When a surprising revelation about her past puts her in the crosshairs of U.S. authorities, Dawn returns to Russia, where she is groomed as a spy by the organization that later becomes the KGB.
Set against the turbulent decades of the early twentieth century, Polostan is an inventive, richly detailed, and deeply entertaining historical epic, and the start of a captivating new series from Neal Stephenson."
Sorcery and Small Magics (The Wildersongs Trilogy) by Maiga Doocy
Publication: October 15th, 2024
Orbit
Paperback. 416 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org
From Goodreads:
"Desperate to undo the curse binding them to each other, an impulsive sorcerer and his curmudgeonly rival venture deep into a magical forest in search of a counterspell—only to discover that magic might not be the only thing pulling them together.
Leovander Loveage is a master of small magics.
He can summon butterflies with a song, or turn someone’s hair pink by snapping his fingers. Such minor charms don’t earn him much admiration from other sorcerers (or his father), but anything more elaborate always blows up in his face. Which is why Leo vowed years ago to never again write powerful magic.
That is, until a mix-up involving a forbidden spell binds Leo to obey the commands of his longtime nemesis, Sebastian Grimm. Grimm is Leo’s complete opposite—respected, exceptionally talented, and an absolutely insufferable curmudgeon. The only thing they agree on is that getting caught using forbidden magic would mean the end of their careers. They need a counterspell, and fast. But Grimm casts spells, he doesn’t undo them, and Leo doesn’t mess with powerful magic.
Chasing rumors of a powerful sorcerer with a knack for undoing curses, Leo and Grimm enter the Unquiet Wood, a forest infested with murderous monsters and dangerous outlaws alike. To dissolve the curse, they’ll have to uncover the true depths of Leo’s magic, set aside their long-standing rivalry, and—much to their horror—work together.
Even as an odd spark of attraction flares between them."
Tuesday, September 10, 2024
Review: Ruin Road by Lamar Giles
Cade Webster lives between worlds. He's a standout football star at the right school but lives in the wrong neighborhood--if you let his classmates tell it. Everywhere but home, people are afraid of him for one reason or another. Afraid he's too big, too fast, too ambitious, too Black.
Then one fateful night, to avoid a dangerous encounter with the police, he ducks into a pawn shop. An impulse purchase and misspoken desire change everything when Cade tells the shopkeeper he wishes people would stop acting so scared around him, and the wish is granted...
At first, it feels like things have taken a turn for the better. But it's not just Cade that people no longer fear--it's everything. With Cade spreading this newfound "courage" wherever he goes, anything can happen. Fearless acts of violence begin to escalate in both his neighborhood and at school. Something monstrous is clearly at work and it's up to Cade to stop it. But just what did he buy and what's the price to undo the damage? After all, the devil's in the details."
If anyone knows how to write a young adult thriller, it's clearly Lamar Giles!
First, is this not an incredibly striking cover that absolutely sets the tone for this book? As soon as I saw that cover, I knew I was in for a ride.
We mainly follow the POV of our protagonist, Cade, with a few chapters throughout that cover some background and provide insight into things going on with some other mysterious and dangerous characters in this book. Cade is an incredible kindhearted character who has genuine compassion and empathy for his friends and family, and this made it so much more interesting to follow him on this harrowing journey to see how he made his decisions and attempted to keep everything under control. He's an easy character to root for, and I think that's what made this a thriller that I felt more connected to, as I had someone to actually care about and want to succeed. Cade struggles with a lot in his life, and his resilience as a teenager is what really sets him apart.
Ruin Road packs a lot into it in a short amount of time, touching on issues of class, race, family struggles, medical issues, supernatural elements, and more. This is a strong thriller with hints of horror sprinkled throughout, and it's one that is sure to keep you hooked and even a little on edge as you wait to find out what's going to happen next. The best part about Giles' inclusion of so many different topics and themes is that he manages to do so in a way that weaves them all together into a seamless narrative that tells a compelling and addictive story. I especially appreciated how well Giles captured the disparities in how Cade is viewed compared to other people at his high school, as well as the many additional layers of complications that follow him around as a black teenager, such as an incident that occurs on a bus and following interactions with police.
One of the big themes explored int his book is that of "fear" and how it can affect lives, both positively and negatively. I'll be honest that initially it wasn't entirely clear to me how Cade's wish for people to stop fearing him was being enacted in the real world, and the actions from various people didn't entirely make sense. I think Iw as focusing a little too heavily on the logical aspects of this and had a lot of questions, such as: how close did people have to be to Cade to be affected? does it last forever? what exactly happens and are they just not afraid of Cade or not afraid of everything? As the story progressed, It hik Giles did a pretty good job of exemplifying what it meant, but there were still a few things that didn't make sense to me. Fortunately, the nitty-gritty of this wasn't the crux of things, so I had no issues with still enjoying the story and understanding everything else going on. I also particularly appreciated how Giles did such an excellent job of showing how a lack of fear or burst in confidence can have a variety of effects, and while some may be positive, many more ended up having some stronger deleterious effects.
Ruin Road is also a surprisingly intense thriller that has some very dark angles that I didn't really expect–although having previous read Giles' thriller The Getaway, I really should expected it! Because of this, everything int his book felt like much higher stakes than I expected, and this really lent itself to the more highly charged atmosphere and curiosity to find out how everything would pan out. And let me tell you, I was definitely not disappointed by the climactic moments of this book and eventual discoveries of everything happening. Giles doesn’t shy away from exploring the dark undercurrents of human nature and the lengths people will go to in desperate situations. There is also an incredibly bittersweet ending that I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about, but that I think was very brave and bold of Giles to do and left me appreciating his storytelling choices.
Overall, I've given Ruin Road four stars!
Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org
Friday, September 6, 2024
Month in Review: August 2024
How was your August? Let me know how your month was below and what you've been reading!
The Phoenix Keeper by S.A. MacLean
Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan
The Crimson Crown by Heather Walter
The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey
Pay the Piper by George A. Romero, Daniel Kraus
Misinterpretation by Ledia Xhoga
8/7: The Naming Song by Jedediah Berry, The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk, & We Kept Her in the Cellar by W.R. Gorman
8/14: William by Mason Coile, Haunt Sweet Home by Sarah Pinsker, & Evil in Me by Brom
8/21: The Gods Below by Andrea Stewart & Bitter is the Heart by Mina Hardy
8/28: Dearest by Jacquie Walters & Entitlement by Rumaan Alam
Saturday, August 31, 2024
Anticipated September 2024 Releases